13+ Raymond Geuss Quotes On Education, Religion And World

Raymond Geuss is a British philosopher who is known for his work in political philosophy, aesthetics, and the philosophy of history. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge and has published several books, including The Idea of a Critical Theory and Outside Ethics. His work often focuses on the limits of philosophical inquiry and the role of values in philosophical analysis. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Raymond Geuss on education, life, religion.

Asking what the question is, and why the question is asked, is always asking a pertinent question. — Raymond Geuss

Nietzsche seems sometimes to replace the "transcendence" which stands at the center of traditional accounts the existence of a transcendent God, or, failing that, a transcendental viewpoint with that of a continually transcending activity. ... There is no single, final perspective, but given any one perspective, we can always go beyond it. — Raymond Geuss

One way ... in which a political philosophy can be ideological is by presenting a relatively marginal issue as if it were central and essential. — Raymond Geuss

Neither the good nor the true is self-realizing, so it is not generally a sufficient explanation of why people believe that X is true, or of why people do Y that Y is good. — Raymond Geuss

The idea that all problems either have a solution or can be shown to be pseudo-problems is not one I share. — Raymond Geuss

When Catullus expresses his love and hate for Lesbia, he is not obviously voicing a wish to rid himself of one or the other of these two sentiments. Not all contradictions resolve into temporal change of belief or desire. — Raymond Geuss

We do not wish to "judge" or assess out surrounding merely as a kind of expressive activity carelessly projected onto the world, but we wish to evaluate the world "correctly," i.e., in according with that it truly is, and the desire to know is directed at determining what the world truly is. — Raymond Geuss

Can one understand politics without understanding history, especially the history of political thought, and will this distinguish political philosophy from some other kinds of philosophy (such as, perhaps, logic) to which the study of history is not integral? — Raymond Geuss

The general point that a political theory is, among other things, a partisan intervention, is well taken. So question about the actual political implication of a theory cannot be excluded as, in principle, irrelevant. — Raymond Geuss

A major danger in using highly abstractive methods in political philosophy is that one will succeed merely in generalizing one's own local prejudices and repackaging them as demands of reason. The study of history can help to counteract this natural human bias. — Raymond Geuss

To the extent to which the pull that moves me really is irresistible, like an invincibly strong addiction, the normal procedures of evaluation, deliberation, choice, decision, etc. that constitute the substance of our political life are not operating. The same is true of overwhelming aversion. The person being tortured who simply wants it to stop, period, is also not a good model for an agent acting politically. — Raymond Geuss

The Kantian philosophy is no more than at best a half-secularized version of such a theocratic ethics, with "Reason" in the place of God. This does not amount to much more than a change of names. — Raymond Geuss

It would be a mistake to believe that one could come to any substantive understanding of politics by discussing abstractly the good, the right, the true, or the rational in complete abstraction from the way in which these items figure in the motivationally active parts of the human psyche, and particularly in abstraction from the way in which they impinge, even if indirectly, on human action. — Raymond Geuss

Life Lessons by Raymond Geuss

1. Raymond Geuss emphasizes the importance of understanding the social and political context of our ideas and beliefs, and the need to be aware of our own biases and limitations.
2. He argues that philosophy should be used to challenge existing power structures and to seek out new ways of thinking and living.
3. He encourages us to be critical and self-reflective when engaging in philosophical discourse, and to be open to different perspectives and interpretations.